District IV—Delaware, District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Virginia
Jay Marsh
Vice President
jaymarsh@ama-d4.org
3227 Pine Needles Rd., High Point NC 27265
Tel.: (336) 687-0973; www.amadistrict-iv.org
www.facebook.com/amadistrictIV
There has been some confusion regarding our District IV website. Our old domain name was hijacked and has now been taken down. Visit www.amadistrict-iv.org to find us and enjoy lots of good posts by renowned authors. It’s your website, so let the authors know what you want to see.
The weather is changing and winter is coming. We can sometimes fly all year in District IV, but often have to wait for a great weekend. This is a good time to go through your models to make repairs and prepare them for inactivity through the winter.
The two most important things to take care of are your batteries and wet engines. All batteries store better when kept in a cool, dry location. Ni-Cd batteries should be stored nearly empty and NiMH batteries should be stored with roughly 1.2 volts per cell. These two types of batteries will slowly deteriorate over time and every three to six months, they should be cycled and returned to their storage state.
LiPo batteries are different and should be balanced and stored at 3.85 volts per cell. Please consult the manufacturer about your batteries for further information.
Wet engines need to be cleaned inside and out and after-run oil worked through the moving parts, including the valves and rods on four-stroke engines. Flush the old fuel/gas out of the tank and carburetor with alcohol. Clean the airplanes and stand them up nose down, which will allow oil to stay around the bearings.
This is by no means the final word, but a reminder to take a few minutes to take care of your models and they will be safer and easier to get back in the air in the spring.
I am pleased to announce that the Raleigh Durham RC Club raised $14,500 for Victory Junction in Randleman, North Carolina, during the club’s Fly For Tots event. I will have a report for you next month.
Bob Pollokoff submitted the following report:
September 25-27, 2015, was the 20th annual Charm City Memorial Fly-In held at the Southwest Area Park Modelers in Baltimore. For the last several years, this fly-in has become an open fly-in for area pilots and for the local community as a way of saying thanks.
More than 40 pilots participated, bringing out every kind of airplane imaginable from World War I and World War II to early and modern aerobatic aircraft. There was even a jet turbine flown by contest director Bob “Digger” Drury.
A dedicated group of club members spent countless hours cooking and selling food and raffle tickets and making things enjoyable for the more than 500 spectators, young and old, who got to enjoy a variety of flying skills.
Visiting pilots Tavis Newman (Virginia), Dan Skuropacki (New Jersey), and local teen Aaron Griffin delighted the crowd with impressive 3-D demonstrations including some wild night flying from Tavis.
Bob Kelliher rigged his Monster Stick with bomb bay doors that he used several times over the weekend for candy drops. The kids loved it! Each day we held buddy-box sessions under the supervision of our club instructors.
Nic Burhans, District IV associate vice president, attended and met with many club members and spectators. A good time was had by all.
Go fly and have fun safely.
Associate Vice Presidents: Delaware: John Kirchstein, (302)731-2831; john@kirchstein.net; Mark Weiss, (302)547-4917; markw@ama-d4.org; North Carolina: Rick Cawley, (919) 630-1649; racbgc@embarqmail.com; Mark Smith, (704)798-2776; mark@ama-d4.org; David Trogdon, (910)654-1220; frogman28472@embarqmail.com; Maryland: Richard “Rick” Moreland, (301) 261-7366; rmoreland1@verizon.net; Virginia: Nic Burhans, (540)219-9646; nic@ama-d4.org; Randy Elliott, (540)239-0645; Randy.Elliott@nordsonxaloy.com; Rusty Kennedy, (757) 812-2812; rusty@ama-d4.org; Steve Moulton, (757) 421-4545; Terry Terrenoire, (412)760-4593; terry@ama-d4.org; FF AVP: Bob Sowder, (540)525-7086; bsowder@rbnet.com. CL/VP and FF/CL Contest Coordinator: John Tate, 10 Hanbury Ave., Portsmouth VA 23702; (757) 399-5376; jtate22@cox.net. RC Contest Coordinator: Andy Kane, 305 Natick Ct., Silver Spring MD 20905; (301) 785-3022; andykane01@gmail.com. Webmaster: Jack Upchurch, webmaster@ama-d4.org.
